Virgin Voyages latest cruise line to cancel all voyages through end of November
Virgin Voyages is cancelling all its scheduled cruises in November, according to a letter the cruise line sent to travel agents. Scarlet Lady, the cruise line’s first ship, was meant to commence cruises from Miami in November, but the 2,770-guest vessel will instead remain in lockdown with the rest of the US cruise industry.
“As we continue to navigate what’s going on in the world, we’ve made the decision to cancel our November sailings,” the letter said. Virgin Voyages said it has spent years working on its cruise brand, implying that waiting a few more weeks to launch was worth it given the safety considerations amid the coronavirus pandemic. It added that it had “incredible shareholders” that were passionately behind the brand. “It has never been a matter of if we sail, but rather when,” the letter said. “We’re fortunate to have such an incredible group of people backing us who believe deeply in what we’ve built and where we’re going – not just at sea, but as a business and brand.”Scarlet Lady was delivered by Fincantieri in February this year. She was meant to commence a series of cruises from the UK and then Miami, sailing roundtrip to the Caribbean, but was placed in hot lay-up after the global cruise industry shut down in March. Virgin Voyages has three further cruise ships on order. The second, Valiant Lady, was floated out in June, while a third as-yet-unnamed cruise ship is under construction.
While Scarlet Lady is scheduled to homeport in Miami, cruising to the Caribbean, with five-night Mayan Sol cruises to Costa Maya, Mexico, and five-night Dominican Daze voyages to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Valiant Lady will be homeported in the Mediterranean. Valiant Lady’s Mediterranean season will feature week-long roundtrip voyages from Barcelona, Spain from May, 2021, visiting destinations in France, Italy and Spain.
Virgin Voyages is building a new cruise terminal for Scarlet Lady in Miami. Scheduled to be completed by 2021, the new cruise terminal will be one of several being developed at the port. Royal Caribbean recently launched its new Terminal A, while Disney Cruise Line is in the process of developing a terminal for three ships.
Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises are also opening their own terminals, while Carnival Cruise Line has instead selected Port Canaveral for its new mega ship cruise terminal.
